The developments hereof relate to automotive sensory enhancement systems in general, and particularly as these may be used in applications for enhancing the automobile driving experience in an enjoyable and visceral way. These developments further provide enhanced sensory feedback to the driver derived from the automobile's existing sensory output.
Today, people spend more and more time in their cars as part of their daily life. People also are spending more and more money on their cars and, as a result, expect and demand more of their cars. It is not unusual for a consumer to spend tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a car, and by doing so, indicate the importance of the car in their lives. On the upper end of the price spectrum, consumer appetites run to more powerful and better-handling cars, and consumer expectations are accordingly higher.
Today's cars are built to be quiet and insulated, and many have expensive high-end stereo systems that provide top quality sound to the driver. However, in such an insulated car, it is difficult to experience the sound of the car's engine. Moreover, the stereo system music may muffle the sound and feel of the engine.
Automotive enthusiasts have long been modifying car systems to increase the sensory output of the automobile and thereby enhancing the driving experience of the driver of an automobile. For example, cars' exhaust systems have been modified to enhance the sound of the engine. In that case, as the gears are shifted, greater feedback is given to the driver to enhance the enjoyment of driving.
Existing systems for enhancing automotive output, such a modifying the exhaust, typically have been generally directed to the enhancement to the exterior of the car rather than to the interior. Such systems would direct the experiential enhancement not only to the driver but also to all passers-by.
Considerations that may generally be encountered in designing systems for bringing sensations back into an automobile include finding a suitable manner for doing so, and balancing the sound and sensation of the engine in such a way as to make the experience maximally enjoyable for the driver.
Prior such solutions for bringing driving sensations back into the vehicle have included devices to bring car sound into the car, such as the “Vroom Box”. The “Vroom Box” is a box mounted inside the car and designed to simulate the sounds of another, more high-end car. It appears that the “Vroom Box utilizes a powerful microprocessor to digitally recreate the sound of 15 different cars and fantasy vehicles . . . .” This does not, however, allow a driver to experience the existing sounds of their own car.
Other solutions for bringing car sound back into a car include devices for the targeted sound transmission from an intake tract of an internal combustion engine to the interior of a motor vehicle. However, these devices do not specify the means of broadcast of the sound transmission within the car, nor do they disclose the subwoofer or vibrational means in the car seat or seats.
Another apparatus known in the art produces sounds corresponding to the operation of an internal combustion engine in the interior space of a motor vehicle. The apparatus is characterized by a pressure sensor, an amplification device, and a speaker. However, again, this does not disclose integration of the sound through the existing speaker system and in balance with the music. This also does not disclose the subwoofer or vibrational means in the car seat or seats.
Yet another method known in the art concerns microphones that collect engine sound and process the engine sound via a speaker provided to an interior of a vehicle. As above, however, this neither discloses integration of the sound through the existing speaker system and in balance with the music nor the subwoofer or vibrational means in the car seat or seats.
In sum, the prior art does not appear to cover the integrative means of bringing sound back into the car via the stereo system and balancing the automotive sound with the existing music sounds. Furthermore, the prior art does not appear to disclose a vibrational means of bringing sensation to the driver or passenger through the driver's or passenger's seat.